Pet merchandise are not at all times good to have a look at. Carpet-covered cat bushes and plastic toys do not significantly mix in with decor, and in the event you dwell with a cat, you realize that often you are going to depart rubbish round—like empty packing containers or a balled up serviette—as a result of that is what they like to play with. That is the value we pay for glad cats. However not every little thing meant for feline enrichment needs to be ugly or cheaply made.
Residing with three cats in residences and small houses, I’ve discovered that when every little thing you personal is on show, you need it to look good. I additionally wished them to be constructed effectively, with longevity in thoughts, and naturally, I wanted my cats to truly like them. So I began a mission to search out lovely cat equipment. These are my (and my cats’) favorites.
Additionally, try our many different pet-related guides, just like the Finest Cat Toys, Finest Litter Bins, Finest Feline Provides, Finest Pet Cameras, and Finest Vet Telemedicine.
Up to date November 2024: We have added the Archie & Oscar Henrietta cat tree, Omlet’s Change cat scratcher and Freestyle Cat Tree, and Dagne Dover’s Kyoto pet service. We have additionally eliminated a discontinued product and up to date costs and hyperlinks all through.
Desk of Contents
Do Your Cats Want Fancy Furnishings?
Your cats want a couple of issues: a clear place to go to the lavatory, contemporary meals and water, and a complete lot of affection. They do not want a $600 litter field enclosure or $300 tree.
Cats are infamous for taking part in with the packaging the very costly merchandise got here in as a substitute of truly utilizing that very costly merchandise. In case your cats solely need plastic toys and junky-looking bushes, give these trash goblins what they need. And what I personally like in fashion, chances are you’ll hate—however it’s a spot to start out if you would like to clean up your house.
Security Recommendation
I spoke with Russell Hartstein, animal behaviorist and founding father of the Los Angeles canine coaching facility Enjoyable Paw Care. He identified that some furnishings, whether or not low cost or costly, might probably be held along with poisonous supplies like formaldehyde glue. The place doable, I requested every of the businesses to verify the supplies used and have supplied their responses beneath.
When on the lookout for merchandise for cats (or any pets!), hold a watch out for small components that might be a choking hazard in the event that they got here undone. Make certain every little thing is hooked up correctly to carry weight, particularly for items that require at-home meeting. Regulate issues which can be glued on, just like the rope typically hooked up to scratchers, to ensure items of the dried glue aren’t uncovered. Even when the glue is unhazardous, you do not need your pet consuming that.
Cat Timber
Reasonably priced and Stable
Fortunately, you do not have to spend a ton on a cat tree to get one thing that appears fairly good. My cats lounge on Catit’s small Vesper Field ($90) whereas I work (I hold it subsequent to my desk). It has a backside semi-enclosed space for some privateness, a center seat with a scratching publish and toy, and a prime mattress. All three ranges have furry pads that Velcro in. They arrive in a number of totally different configurations and colour choices.
The Vesper furnishings is constituted of fiberboard with a laminate end. My cats have been utilizing it since 2020 with out something degrading—it made it backwards and forwards throughout the nation in packed U-Hauls too. Catit does supply alternative components to increase the furnishings’s life. I’ve used a bunch of issues from Catit now, together with totally different water fountains, and it is a usually well-regarded model. It additionally provides a 30-day return window in case your cat finally ends up not liking it, and yow will discover merchandise at Chewy and Amazon too.
Catit assured me all of the Vesper furnishings is made with toxin-free supplies, and it follows the formaldehyde emission requirements (TSCA Title VI compliant) for composite wooden merchandise put forth by the EPA.
Runner-Up
The Mau Cento Tree bought probably the most compliments of any furnishings I’ve owned. Past being fairly, my cats cherished it. I typically discovered two of them quick asleep in every basket, or my little woman Eely slumbered within the fuzzy cave. They leap on and off, scratch the designated scratchers, and play with the pom poms. It’s totally costly, although components are replaceable.
Every bit is constituted of actual wooden (sourced ethically from bushes that “not bear fruit,” based on the corporate), and the model donates 5 p.c of earnings to animal welfare and environmental conservation organizations and crops a tree for each order. Mau shared take a look at outcomes with us that confirmed no lead, cadmium, or formaldehyde was detected within the merchandise examined—this included plush bedding, sisal ropes, metallic frames, particle board, tree trunk, plywood, and different woods and fillings. We have been glad to see this, although the model didn’t explicitly state that the furnishings was unhazardous.
For Cats Who Want They Have been Outdoors
As really helpful by PETA and the Humane Society of the US, my two cats are indoor-only. Nonetheless, they nonetheless get pleasure from chattering and lunging at birds that go to our window fowl feeder, and the Archie & Oscar Henrietta, a 5-foot-tall, three-tiered fake tree, checks two packing containers—it permits them a excessive place to take a seat, and it satisfies their intuition to hide themselves from each prey and potential predators (babies, vacuums). Although meeting isn’t precisely a breeze, the tree seems nice in a room filled with houseplants, and the person branches might be popped in or out relying in your or your cats’ preferences—there are sufficient to cowl the entire tree, or simply partially, as my cats Circe and Scylla favor.
Circe enjoys hanging out on the underside stage, concealing herself among the many leaves, and Scylla loves hanging out on the highest with a number of the branches eliminated, in addition to rubbing her face all around the “stems” and “leaves.” Word that producer On2Pets confirmed that the tree parts are product of unhazardous, pet-safe supplies, although cats shouldn’t be permitted to chew on the greenery. —Kat Merck
A Customizable System
There are cat bushes, after which there’s the Omlet Freestyle cat tree, which has extra in widespread with an erector set than it does the standard carpet-and-sisal quantity. Sturdy sufficient for even the biggest of cats, this modular assortment of metallic poles and solid-bamboo platforms is akin to Barbie’s DreamHouse for cat fanciers—you should buy as many platforms, steps, beds, scratchers, and add-ons as you’d wish to create something from a single pole in a nook to a maze that spans a complete room. There are pots for crops, rings for treats, scratchers, and pads.
In case you can’t resolve learn how to construct your personal set, Omlet’s website provides a number of predesigned options. Poles taller than 8 ft must be bracketed right into a wall for stability, however not like comparable merchandise, Freestyle can accommodate ceilings as much as 12 ft excessive. My cats spend a minimum of a part of every day on a set that includes two poles, scratchers, and beds (costs differ relying on what number of parts you add). Nonetheless, deliver your persistence—even my wholesome marriage was threatened over the meeting of two poles’ value of equipment. In case you do construct your personal, although, be sure to embrace the tipi. My cats struggle over theirs. —Kat Merck
Cat Beds
A Mushy Cave
Catenary’s Moon Cave provides two tender mattress choices. In case your cats like small areas for napping, depart it as a cave. If they like some headroom, push down the highest to show it into a conventional pet mattress. There are tons of two-in-one beds like this that yow will discover for reasonable, however I admire that the impartial, tender design right here blends into the nook of my lounge as a substitute of standing out like a brightly coloured toy. Possibly I used to be influenced by images on the web site, however I am imagining this trying completely cozy beneath a Christmas tree this winter. The bouclé—aka looped yarn—can also be mechanically cleanable.
Window Beds
Cats love lounging within the solar, so beds that sit on the window make excellent sense. I have been utilizing the Ok&H Pet Merchandise Kitty Sill Fleece beds for years. It is not fancy, however the beige fleece blends in fairly effectively. In case your home windows do not have sills for them to take a seat on, there are alternatives with suction cups to stay proper on the glass.
Suction cup cat seats at all times make me nervous, particularly as a result of I’ve a pair hefty boys right here. However Tuft and Paw’s Cloud 9 Window Hammock is safe, so long as you totally clear your home windows and provides the cups time to actually stick. I’ve additionally used the Kitty Cot ($45), which is extra inexpensive although not as aesthetically pleasing. I might suggest including one thing tender to each—each supply blankets or pads for an additional price, however I want they might be hooked up even with snaps or velcro, so they do not slip round if a cat leaps onto it.
Scratchers
The Finest Scratcher
Not each piece of good cat furnishings must price a number of hundred bucks. I’ve used a couple of of PetFusions’s loungers they usually held up very well underneath ferocious cat claws. Additionally they look cool and are sturdy sufficient to assist my weight (typically ya gotta attain one thing up excessive, you realize). Cats can scratch one facet to oblivion and then you definitely simply flip it to a wonderfully clear facet.
Higher Cardboard Slabs
Corrugated cardboard scratchers are nice as a result of most cats love them, they usually’re simple to exchange. Except the big PetFusion lounger above, most are simply skinny rectangles. They do their job however do not appear to be something particular. Catenary’s Bloom scratchers, although, take it up a notch, utilizing pet-safe dyes to create an attractive, pure design mimicking natural world. It has no influence on whether or not or not my cats will scratch them (they may), they usually actually look good on my ground. For $60, you get a set of three, and each is reversible.
Haven’t got that a lot house to spare? The Boots and Barkley Wave Scratcher ($15) from Goal shouldn’t be as cute, however my cats like it.
A Lovely Aspect Desk Scratcher
Typically you see a product on Kickstarter and depend down the times till it is accessible—that is what I did with the Hilde & Phil Cat-e-Nook. It is an actual wooden facet desk for you, a scratcher to your cats, and a protector to your furnishings arms. The sisal scratch mats are replaceable and fasten to the wooden with sturdy velcro, so it is a long-term funding for you and your pets.
Relying on the peak of your furnishings, chances are you’ll want so as to add a riser. The web site has actual measurements, but when it is taller than 25 inches, you may want a 2-inch riser. If it is taller than 27 inches, get a 4-inch riser. The usage of risers additionally means you may swap them in or out in the event you change furnishings as a substitute of getting to get a brand new desk altogether. I like that the model is named after the founder’s cats—it is my dream to open a enterprise named after my beloved buddies.
A Scratching Submit With ~Vibes~
UK-based Omlet is thought for its predator-proof rooster coops just like the Eglu Professional (8/10, WIRED Recommends), however previously few years it has expanded its choices for different pets, together with cats. One of many heaviest, sturdiest cat scratchers I’ve ever seen, the Change is a 33-inch-tall, sisal-wrapped tube on a 16 x 16-inch bamboo base weighted with a big water bottle. It accommodates 12 totally different LED mild reveals of curiosity to each cats and folks, from the traditional purple darting laser to coloured pinwheels and Tetris-like patterns, all with adjustable brightness, colours, and speeds. (My cats are usually not particularly fascinated by chasing the lights, although they do watch them.) Set it up in a darkish den or gaming room for a twin cat toy and dialog piece, or use it in a bed room as a nightlight.
Neither of my 10ish-pound home shorthairs might knock this over regardless of my waving a toy on the highest of it to check their full leaping weight, so it might be an excellent choice for bigger or extra lively breeds like Maine coons or Bengals. The sisal sleeve can also be replaceable ($45), so not like cheaper scratchers, the entire thing doesn’t must be tossed when spent. Be forewarned, nonetheless, that this tree requires a prolonged and considerably difficult meeting, so be sure to have a few hours and a strong provide of endurance put aside. —Kat Merck
Sofa With Scratch Pads or a Cushion
The Work in Progress Cat Sofa is cute and can be utilized as a scratcher, a mattress, or each. The bottom worth features a cardboard scratcher that may be flipped over after which changed (then you may recycle the previous one). Or you may get a actually fairly cushion for an extra $110. One in all my cats instantly scratched and lounged on it—cats typically lounge immediately on cardboard scratchers, so you do not have to get the pillow immediately.
Like a number of the different merchandise on this checklist, I believe it is costly given its simplicity. Nonetheless, Work in Progress (WIP) is a small enterprise. In case you can afford it, it is good to assist small companies like this, relatively than a serious firm like Petco or Walmart. The Cat Sofa is manufactured from Baltic birch wooden in Arizona. It is completed and sealed, assembly the Greenguard low-emissions certification, so it must be secure for pets. The cushion is full of polyester and the quilt is a linen-cotton mix.
A Service/Mattress Combo
I’ve tried fairly a couple of carriers throughout the value spectrum, and I used to be impressed by Tuft and Paw’s Porto Cat Service (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It is tender however sturdy, and would not collapse underneath the load of a cat. It has transported my cats to vet visits and stored them snug within the automobile throughout a cross-country transfer. Some cats will sleep in any service in the event you depart it out, however I like that this one might be remodeled into a bit mattress by unzipping one facet and unfolding the fake shearling pad. The complete factor is framed in zippers, so it may well go from a structured service to utterly flat. That offers you extra choices for getting fussy cats in or out.
An Upscale Service/Mattress Combo
My cat Scylla is unusually choosy about the place she sleeps, however she is obsessive about snoozing within the soft-sided Dagne Dover Kyoto pet service. (It’s additionally standard amongst our employees with canine—WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu makes use of it to tote his pup to the seaside.) The bag as a mattress is smart from a cat perspective—it’s mainly a field, which cats love, with opaque sides to make them really feel secure and mesh screens on the back and front to allow them to keep watch over issues. In contrast to many precise cat beds, the Kyoto’s tender sherpa mattress insert additionally has a zip-off, washable cowl.
I additionally love that it opens from the highest, which makes it a lot simpler for wrangling and inserting noncompliant animals, and that it’s each TSA-compliant (it may well match underneath an airline seat) and permits Scylla to have a secure and acquainted house at any time when I have to take her someplace. I’ve the big measurement, which inserts pets as much as 20 kilos, however there’s additionally a small choice for pets 15 kilos and underneath. Seat belt loops add a layer of security for automobile rides, and the whole bag collapses flat for storage. —Kat Merck
Litter Bins and Enclosures
A Nice Fundamental Litter Field
My cats are completely superb utilizing plain previous litter packing containers, and yours most likely are too. You’ll be able to class it up a bit with packing containers disguised as crops or hidden inside facet tables, however Tuft and Paw’s Cove litter field takes a easy litter pan and elevates it.
It is hefty, so it will not transfer round in case your cats wish to kick. Talking of kicking, the removable shelter retains litter and pee inside—simply in case your cat has a excessive stream. The field has a devoted house for the included scoop and dustpan. Nonetheless, I want you could possibly buy the shelter individually. Weirdly, this field would not match into the model’s litter field enclosure, however the model launched a brand new Cubby model ($69) that does work with its trendy Haven Enclosure ($699)—we’ve not tried the Haven, however we have been coveting it from afar.
The Finest Litter Field Enclosure
Placing a litter field inside a chunk of furnishings meant to hide it may give your cats some privateness, conceal odors, and conceal little turds out of your visitors.
Tuft and Paw’s litter field enclosure is among the most lovely items of furnishings I’ve seen, however it’s pricier than quite a lot of us can afford. WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe has tried this Rena Litter Field Enclosure from Wayfair although, and you may typically discover it for round $120ish (and normally even much less). It merely is not as fairly as Tuft and Paw, however it would not appear to be a poop receptacle both, and there is ample house on prime for some decorations to additional mix it in with your own home.
